Shuttle Number Two
by BeyondInsanity
Summary: Sometimes it's easy to forget that he's human. Slash


X

**X**

It's easy to forget the doctor is human sometimes.

He seems so solid, so whole, always there for River and the crew when they need him. Add that to the fact that he has little to no social skills, and he seems robotic, detached. No one really considers him the way they do the others, except maybe in the way they consider Jayne, which is a category all his own.

So Mal nearly stumbles and falls, when strolling down the one of the lesser used areas of Serenity, the corridor right by shuttle two, to find Simon, on the ground, knees drawn up to his chest, sobbing softly. For a second Mal hesitates, thinking he should just turn and walk back, but it feels like the coward's way out, the wrong choice, and his nature won't let him do that. Walking forward cautiously, the way he'd approach skittish horses in his teenage years on the ranch, he calls "Simon?"

The effect is instantaneous. The older Tam scrambles to his feet, trying to compose himself. He drags the back of a palm furiously under his right eye. Something about the gesture calls to Mal and before he really thinks about it Mal's hand flies out and catches Simon's. Then he leans in and kisses the tear just below Simon's other eye. Simon whimpers and crumples into him, as if the unexpected gesture of kindness and affection had broken him. Mal keeps kissing along the doctor's jaw, cursing at himself for not having noticed him sooner. Simon just clutches at him softly, before moving his head and nudging at Mal's gently, Mal reluctantly looking the boy in the eyes, afraid to find his actions no longer welcome.

Instead in the similar blue eyes he finds need and want. Then Simon is kissing him, full on, lips and tongue and all on his, and Mal moans. He hasn't been touched in far too long. He allows himself a moment to marvel at how sexy and dirty the doc's pretty mouth can be, how firm and smooth his body is. Soon their kiss grows heated and Mal is pressing Simon against the hard metal wall closest to them. Then as he attacks Simon's neck, he hears a breathy soft voice saying "Mal, wait." He stop puzzled and Simon says "Not here, anyone can see us, in the shuttle, quickly." Mal feels a wolf grin stretch across his features. Trust the genius doctor to think of that.

Then there both their pants are off, and Simon opens Mal's shirt slightly to kiss his chest. Before Mal fully understand why, he's taking Simon hard against the wall, the doctor's legs locked around his hips, obscene moans whimpers and growls coming from both of them. His climax hits so hard that Mal thinks for a second he might pass out. Then Simon's legs drop from their position around Mal, and Mal stops holding him up, and just holds him, with Simon pressing his face into Mal's chest, both of them breathing hard.

For a moment times stands still and Mal's body hums with post orgasmic happiness and the feeling of someone in his arms. Then slowly, Simon begins to pull back, until he isn't in Mal's arms anymore, but standing in front of him. He looks up quickly, then his eyes flicker back down. Shy, or embarrassed. Mal just waits.

Finally, Simon speaks first "I should go." Mal isn't quite sure what this makes him feel, so he settles for his usual tactics. "Oh, so you're a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy doc?" he says it with a grin, as if it were a joke, but the corners of his mouth hurt and he tries to ignore he flitting thought in his brain going Was it something I did?

Simon turns a little pink. "I just... I don't Mal. Will this go anywhere? _Can_ it? I... this seems simpler" He looks ashamed as if he knew it was the coward's way out, and he knows all too well how Mal feels about cowards. Mal feels rage and disappointment bubbling inside him. "So that's it then. Thanks for the sex, goodbye?" His voice is harsh and Simon winces. "It's not like that." "How _is_ it then?" Simon stands speechless. For awhile the silence stretches, painful and awkward.

"I can't Mal. Not with…everything. I'm sorry. But I a_m_ grateful" then he walks out the door. The last bit isn't meant to sound hurtful or mean, just true, and Mal wonders how such a successful doctor can have such a poor grasp of how to talk to people. But Simon looks so small and hurt and confused that Mal just lets him go. With everything... yes, _any_ relationship would be complicated, especially on a boat like Serenity, where more than just crew they were family, and on top of that there was River. The whole idea was just plain crazy. Mal smirked ruefully; he'd been called insane more than once. He sat on a crate nearby, thinking of Simon and his scent, wondering if he'd make n appearance in his dreams. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and sat quietly until dinner.

**A/N:** This could be a stand alone or a multi-chapter fic, I'm not sure yet. Make sure to put your opinion in the reviews.

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